[Ottawa] – On National Cancer Survivors Day and during the first week of June we honor survivors with a Coffee Party with a Purpose event to create awareness and raise funds for CCSN’s mission of supporting and empowering cancer survivors.
National Cancer Survivors Day® is Sunday, June 1, 2014. This 27th annual celebration of life will be held in hundreds of communities worldwide. Cancer survivors, caregivers, family members, friends, and healthcare professionals will unite to show that life after a cancer diagnosis can be meaningful, productive, and even inspiring.
You are invited to hold a Coffee Party With a Purpose in your own office, across your organization, or in your home, to honor cancer survivors for their strength and courage.
“Surviving cancer is more than just living. It’s an attitude about life and living each day to the fullest,” says CCSN Board Member Mona Forrest, Coffee Party with a Purpose organizer for CCSN. You will find our community’s Coffee Party events filled with joy, camaraderie, hope, compassion, faith, and love as we honor cancer survivors for their strength and courage. We will also recognize the contributions of their families, friends, and healthcare providers and discuss the issues faced by cancer survivors today.”
Anyone living with a history of cancer – from the moment of diagnosis through the remainder of life, is a cancer survivor, according to the National Cancer Survivor Day Foundation.
Canadian Cancer Statistics 2013 tell us that at the beginning of 2009, there were about 838,724 Canadians living with and beyond a cancer that had been diagnosed in the previous 10 years. An estimated 187,600 new cases of cancer will have occurred in Canada in 2013. More than half (about 52%) of all new cases will be lung, breast, colorectal and prostate cancers. About 2 in 5 Canadians will develop cancer in their lifetimes.
Learning about this disease is crucial, because many forms of cancer can be prevented and most cured if detected early.
Major advances in cancer prevention, early detection, and treatment have resulted in longer survival, and therefore, a growing number of cancer survivors. However, a cancer diagnosis can leave a host of problems in its wake. Physical, financial, and emotional hardships often persist after diagnosis and treatment. Survivors may face many challenges, such as limited access to cancer specialists and promising new treatments, inadequate or no insurance, financial hardships, difficulty finding employment, psychosocial struggles, and a lack of understanding from family and friends. In light of these difficulties, our community needs to focus on improving the quality of life for cancer survivors.
“Despite these challenges, cancer survivors live full, productive lives and serve as an inspiration to all of us,” says Mona Forrest. Contact participate@survivornet.ca for a registration kit to join the Party with a Purpose. Just say “Count me In”.